Fascinating Creatures
by redpiratejeanine
Summary: Merman!Haru and Human!Rin. Mermaids are real. But after the incident ten years ago, they are still being captured out of the ocean and kept in aquariums or tortured for information. Some just drag them out at night when no one s looking. And those who see keep silent. But when Rin is awoken one night by painfilled cries he goes to the rescue of the merman. RInharu. Future AU
1. Chapter 1

div style="mso-element: para-border-div; border: none; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm;"  
p class="MsoNormalCxSpFirst" style="mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-add-space: auto; text-align: justify; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0cm; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 0cm 1.0pt 0cm;"span lang="EN-US"Mermaids have been discovered. Scientists had gotten in contact with them and, after some persuading; they were allowed to take one in to analyze it with permission from the tribe. Unfortunately, they accidentally end up killing it, and when the tribe claims for the mermaid, they give the news and they rebel against humans, drowning the scientist that had lowered to pass the news. Now mermaids and mermen all over the world are being pulled out from the ocean and into conservative tanks where they are tortured for information on more creatures and locations from other tribes. The 'good' ones are put into aquariums, where they mostly get weak from the lack of sea water and sometimes die. Some are bought by rich people to keep in the house. After ten years of killing there are almost none left in the ocean and it is mostly prohibited to enter it, but even now, mermaids and mermen are being dragged out of the sea and through the streets when no one's looking; and the people who see or listen, do not speak or interfere out of fear./span/p  
/div 


	2. Chapter 2

_I promised other things but here is Rinharu because Season 2_

* * *

Rin's life was normal, or as normal as it could be at least. He lived near the ocean and loved to walk on its shores when there was no one around to stare at him, thinking how mad he can be to dare step on the salty waters. Ever since those merfolk had been discovered, he had felt quite in awe with them; since he loved swimming and always found the idea of living like a fish impossible. But when the first experimented in mermaid was accidentally killed, everything started going downhill in his life.

He was banned from even touching the ocean that lay in front of his house and all the swimming competitions were cancelled because they needed the pools for 'government business'; although no one told him, he was pretty sure the pools were being used to put all the captured merfolk in, locked inside the small stadiums where no one could hear their cries of anger, enchanting and mercy for help and revenge.

Rin still sat down in his terrace to look at the seas though, and felt a dumbstruck smile force into his face when he thought he saw a tail or a head poking in the distance; sure, he 'despised' merfolk as he was supposed to in other people's eyes, but he really disliked the idea of endangering such a beautiful raze of amazing creatures, just because they had tried to rebel for the murder of one of their people.

It was understandable, their anger. Rin would've gone mad if something were to happen to his sister Gou or one of his close friends like Makoto. The concept of one of the people you saw everyday being killed by some scientists trying to find out about them was disturbing and angering, it was logic the merfolk wanted revenge.

But what could he do?

Rin couldn't try to save the mermaids and merfolk dragged by the tails without mercy across the streets; the blood from their scales dying the pavements red; their pain filled cries waking him up at night. He couldn't stand before so many people against them, those who hung red flags for the people who were drowned when the merfolk wanted to get revenge. Their anger was understandable, of course, but their reaction towards the situation was just wrong.

But what could he do?

He never would've thought of helping all the other nights when he had used earphones to drown the cries of the merfolk. Never had stood in by his window and actually saw the scene. He had been described it in full detail by Makoto, who hadn't slept well since he saw it. And now he understood why.

He had been woken up like hundreds of nights before with the ear piercing wails from his street, but this time he didn't block it with music, but found the will power enough to stand up and walk to his window and stare.

It was horrible.

There. On the other side of the street a couple of feet away from the edge of his house was a scen he never thought he would gasp for. A hooded man was standing hunched, pulling a rope from behind him. He quite couldn't catch it at first, but he made out what the man was pulling with the rope and he felt his fists clench.

A mermaid was being dragged by the tail; which was a bright light blue. Blood could be seen trailing the pavement behind them. The creature was trying to grab on to something as it was being pulled harshly on the uneven pavement. Red shining blood could be seen from where the road was tied to him. Him. It was a merman. The man suddenly turned as the merman let out another scream and flipped so he was leaning on his elbows, hissing at the man. The man kicked the merman hard and raised a gun to his face, saying something and then continuing to drag him along, this time the merman didn't open his mouth to scream.

And Rin was stunned.

He had never been so angry.

In less than a minute he found himself on the pavement in front of the man, gritting his teeth in anger. "What the hell do you-" and he was already unconscious in the ground, having been met half way his insult with a fist.

Rin turned to the merman and was shocked for a second with the blue eyes that met his. Jet black hair was wet on his head and shook water as he turned his head to the side, hanging his head. Rin approached carefully and kneeled next to the merman, carefully untying the rope around the end of his tail where two thin fins started from. The creature stared at him sideways intently, watching his every move.

When he finished, Rin stood, still watching the merman. The creature stared back at him. An idea suddenly occurred to him. "You can't..." He shook his head, his blue marine eyes sparkling with pain, but clearly too proud to show it.

Rin looked around and muttered a swear. "Oh, you have to be kidding me" he kneeled again and without warning picked the merman up bridal style, and to his surprise he didn't make a sound.

He got him quickly to his house and practically threw him in his bed as he ran to fill the bathtub. This was crazy. He was crazy. But he didn't think it twice when he went out to the street.

"I'm sure I'll regret this"


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay" The bathtub was filled to the top, and Rin stood to go to his bedroom.

And there was no merman.

He quickly panicked; he hadn't noticed almost 30 minutes had passed since he left him in his bed. Had someone found it? Had it just vanished? He gave up his thoughts and started walking cautiously around his house. Not 30 seconds had passed when he blew a sigh of relief.

"There you are" The merman was sprawled on the floor. Clearly, he had been pulling himself around the house and his tail was thrashing up and down. When Rin spoke he stopped moving and Rin noticed the cuts in his tail, small cuts all over, and even a few scales were missing; but it was still the most amazing thing Rin had seen, and from so close.

When he carried him for the second time, he noticed the scales in his forearms and the way he was breathing so heavily, like something was crushing his chest. The merman was shaking as Rin carried him, his head tucked below Rin's.

"Okay" Rin said as he lowered him on the tub. "This isn't the ocean, but it's better than nothing" the merman fit sitting on the tub and, as it was not such a long tub, his tale bent slightly where knees would be so he could fit.

Rin was in full awe. He knelt beside the tub and watched as the merman tried to duck his head under the water, clearly annoyed when he couldn't. His tail seemed to have bits of glass stuck on it, probably when he was being pulled out of the sea; where in the sand lay thousands of shards of broken glass from when they had tried putting the merfolk on tanks before taking them anywhere, and they had broken them by hitting their tails against it.

"Do you..." Rin looked at the merman cautiously nodding a little. "Have a name?"

The merman looked slightly uncomfortable, but only slightly as he open and closed his mouth. "Haru" he pronounced the words carefully. "Have food?"

Rin nodded. "Food? Like seaweed"

"No" he shook his head "no, mackerel. Fish"

Rin stood and brought out a pack of raw mackerel he had on his refrigerator. He returned and handed them to the Haru, and he took them gracefully, bowing his head lightly. Rin watched as he ate the fish, almost swallowing them whole.

After a few minutes of awkward silence Rin noticed the pink tone the water was taking and noticed the tail was still bleeding.

"Haru?" The merman turned to look at him. "Do you want me to help you? With the cuts I mean. You're still bleeding"

He nodded. "Do you have...a name?"

"Rin" he said as he stood again. "I can take the shards of glass, but I have to take you out of the water for a few minutes, okay"

"How long?"

"Ten or twenty" Rin eyed the tail again. "You have a lot of cuts"

Haru nodded and Rin ducked his arms in the water to pick him up, getting wet with bloodied water himself. He sat him carefully on his bed. "Don't crawl out again, got it?" He nodded and Rin went to look for a pin.

After some minutes they were sitting on the bed together. Haru's tail was over Rin´s legs as he was carefully taking out the glass from the light blue scales. Haru let out hisses every time one came out, and Rin muttered an apology and continued.

Soon Haru was back in his tank, but this time a small blush covered his cheeks. Rin walked to his room and checked the time. 2:30 in the morning. "Hey, I have to..." When he peeked into the bathroom he noticed Haru had rested his crossed arms on the edge of the tub and rested his head on them; and was sleeping peacefully. Rin smiled to himself. "Goodnight, Haru" he whispered as he lay on his bed again, not caring it was a little wet from when Haru had sat on them.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Rin cooked breakfast as Haru watched him from the bathroom, which to he had left the door open so the merman could watch him walk around.

"Is it hard?" Haru asked as he put the fish and scrambled eggs on the table.

"What?" Rin asked as he walked to pick him up again. He looked at Haru from where he was standing and smiled, seeing what a wonderful creature was hiding in his bathtub.

"Walking" Haru's eyes sparkled. "It's difficult right?"

Rin leaned down and picked up Haru bridal style. "Well, is swimming hard?"

"No"

"Because you've been swimming your whole life" Rin sat Haru carefully on the wooden chair and for a second thought he'd slip, but his tail moved back and forth beneath him, like a dog's when it's happy. "It's the same thing"

"Oh" Haru stared down at the fork and knife. He picked up the fork curiously and smelled it, then tried to bite it and hissed, throwing the form away.

Rin laughed lightly. "With this" he said picking up his own fork. "You eat" he ate his scrambled eggs and Haru watched him intently.

"That's odd" he frowned. "Why would you eat with that? Doesn't it hurt?"

"No" Rin looked at the fish in front of Haru. "Are you eating?"

Haru ate his mackerel with his bare hands, munching it quietly. After a few minutes of silent eating, Haru shivered, hugging himself. "Oh, you're cold?" He nodded. "I didn't know you could be cold. I mean, the sea is quite cold don't you think?" He shook his head and his lips were suddenly turning to purple.

Rin left his empty plate and rounded the table, touching Haru's cheek with the back of his hand and quickly retreating them. "You're freezing" he said alarmingly. Without thinking, he took off his jacket and put it neatly on Haru's shoulders, pulling the sides close to him. He took a shaky breathe and smiled a little. "T-thank you"

Rin picked him up again. "Is it because you need water?"

"No..." Haru cuddled closer to Rin. "It's the climate only, the air...my body's not used to it"

"So you don't need water to survive"

"Yes, sea water, once a lunar cycle at least. Best when it's full" Rin walked with the merman in his arms, feeling how cold he actually was.

"Do you want to go back to your tub?" He asked, but Haru shook his head.

"It's cold"

"To bed, then?" He questioned.

He frowned. "Bed?"

"Yes" Rin smiled "when I took the glass from your tail"

"Oh, that?" Haru blushed a little. "Yes...that was nice" he whispered and Rin shrugged.

The blush on Haru's cheeks was cute in some way, but what was making him blush? Last night he had blushed when he had dropped him in his tub after removing the glass. It was funny; it wasn't even a blush-able act. Maybe merfolk had other things to blush for? Other believes? Other ground rules, if you could call them that?

Wait, Rin stopped. He had a better idea. He turned on his heels and walked to his terrace, where Haru immediately gasped and tensed, then quickly relaxed again when he saw the ocean. Rin sat on the hammock with Haru still in his arms.

"I thought you'd like it" Rin said simply, nodding towards the ocean that lay in front of his house.

"It's a pretty view" Haru said lowly. "I wish I could go back..."

Rin tensed "what do you mean"

"I was pushed towards the shore when boats started dropping a liquid into the water, a dark thing that killed my tribe before they swam away. I got too close to the shore. That's where a man captured me in his nets and I was dragged to the coast"

Rin felt sad for the merman, who had nowhere else to go. Who had watched his tribe choke on oil and die...? It was terrible. "Don't worry" Rin tried to assure him. "Maybe someone got out. And we'll figure about the moon cycle and the sea water"

Haru nodded and, surprising Rin, cuddled closer to him. Somehow he had gotten his arms on the sleeves of his jacket, and the cuffs reached halfway his fingers. Rin eased himself slowly onto the clothe of the hammock, having not slept enough, as he had woken up too early because of what had happened; he was exhausted and telling by the drooping eyes of Haru, he felt no different.

Soon they were lying completely on the hammock, Haru's head, along with his arms, were resting on Rin's chest; his tail snaking as if on instinct around one of his legs. Rin in change had both his arms around Haru, holding him against him lightly.

Haru was already in deep slumber above Rin, but Rin was still a little awake. He was watching the merman wearing his jacket, tracing the delicate features of his face with his eyes; those blue eyes resting behind his eyelids. _Oh god_, Rin thought, _you're seriously not falling for him_. But when he heard what his mind was whispering, he knew it was helpless and felt a little relieved.

_Of course you are_.


	5. Chapter 5

Rin woke up to a still asleep Haru, and smiled at himself as he slowly raised his hand to caress his black, soft hair. Rin, watching how deeply he was sleeping, snaked his hand under his own jacket and rested it on the small spot on the low of his back, just above the start of the blue scales. He traced slow circles there, then, up his spine and down again, watching the relaxed sighs escaping from the merman's slightly parted lips.

After a few minutes, Rin noticed the fluttering eyelids and watched as Haru slowly awoke from his slumber. "Rin?" He asked sleepily.

"Yeah?"

"It's cold"

Shit.

Rin hadn't noticed, but when Haru had raised his head from his arms, his lips were purple again, and his hands were freezing when Rin touched them.

Haru suddenly looked back and blushed, lowering his eyes. Rin carefully sat up on the hammock, trying to not bend or do something to the tail that was slowly disentangling from his leg. He slowly picked up Haru after he stood up and was surprised once again when the merman wrapped his arms around his neck. Rin walked to his room and saw the clock. 1:30. "We napped quite a while" he told Haru, who was shaking a little in his arms. "Here" he sat him on the edge of his bed, but, as he turned to look at the clock again, he felt something nagging at the side of his mind.

He was forgetting something. Something just didn´t fit. It was 1:30 p.m. in the afternoon on a nice Saturday. What was he forgetting? But when the door to his house sounded with knocks, he instantly remembered and reacted. He picked Haru up and ran to the bathroom, where he carefully sat him (after he had taken off is jacket) on the tub and signaled for him to be quiet.

"What´s wrong?" he asked curiously, but Rin just put a finger to his lips and widened his eyes, obtaining a nod in return.

As Rin hears the welcome from his corridor, he slowly shut the door and turned, just in time to see Makoto leaving his bags on the kitchen´s table. "Hey Rin!" he says smiling. "God, it´s been a long day on the station. But I got free the rest of the day, as always"

Makoto frowned at Rin. He walked towards him warily. "Okay, what´s going on?" Rin realized he had been leaning so heavily on the bathroom door and quickly dismissed his worry with a sigh and a laugh.

"Nothing, just…" he held a hand above his stomach. "Stomachache, you do _not_ want to go in there"

Makoto frowned for a second, inspecting Rin´s face carefully. He could always tell when he was lying, but the sick look on Rin´s face was genuine, so Makoto just smiled his casual smile and went to his bedroom. "Oh. Poor you. It´s been a long time since you got your last one"

His best friend walked around like he was in his own house and slumped down on the bed. "Yeah, long day…"

"We got, like, four false calls," Makoto laughed, but it only made Rin a little uneasy "and a crazy old woman who thought her hair was on fire when it was just ginger"

Rin laughed shakily. "Looks like someone didn´t take her pills" they laugh together. They had been friends since forever, and on every Saturday he would pass by his house to hang out. "

"What is this?" Makoto held in his hands a light blue scale, and was staring at the floor where several shards of glass laid. "This looks like…Rin" he looked at him dead in the eye. "What did you do?"

Rin quickly invented an excuse. Makoto was really caring and sensible, and was deeply offended when someone hurt any living creature. He was horrified of the torture of the merfolk but, like Rin couldn´t do anything about it. "I found the scale on the beach" before Makoto could protest, because being on the beach was deeply forbidden "I thought I saw something on the water, for a moment though it was a dolphin, but it was nothing"

"And the glass?"

Rin sighed. "I accidentally pushed the water vase from my nightstand"

"And since when do you have a vase on your nightstand"

"Since I wake up from nightmares about what you told me a week ago"

There was a silence, and then Makoto spoke quietly. "I have been having nightmares too"

"It´s just inhuman" Rin said angrily. "They are people, just a different kind"

"They tried to rebel…we killed one" Makoto shook his head. "It´s not fair to them. They were just angry"

Rin had blocked the image from his mind, but the description came into his head.

_One week ago_

_"__It was horrible" Makoto said. "We were walking around wih the crew when we saw a lot of people gathered outside the stadium, you know, the one where we raced at. ´They´re making a demonstration´ they were all saying and we were curious, so we followed._

_"__We got through after a few minutes and we were too stunned to protest. They had taken out the pool and built a platform, and there was a man standing there with a microphone and two covered somethings behind him, which looked too much like a tanks. ´Here we have the myths that have become real. Here we have the creatures who scare us away from the ocean. Here, the killers and responsible for so many shipwrecks and deaths. The cause of those who were lost at sea´ the man pulled the cover from the tank on the right, and inside it was a mermaid. She was beautiful, but she looked in s much pain. ´Here is our revenge´ the man said and so many people _cheered_. _

_"__The man then broke the tank and held the mermaid by the tail. Her screams…she kept screaming Rin. And the people kept cheering. ´Here we leave a message for _him_ to deliver´ he took out the other covering from the tank and inside was a merman, who kept pounding his fists on the glass and banging his tail against it. ´This is her mate people´ there were catcalls as the merman kept protesting. _

_"__He took out a gun and shot her. Just shot her again and again on the tail and she kept screaming. The merman was deep on the floor of the tank with his hands against the glass, still pounding, still screaming silently. The man brought out a sword and showed it to the crowd. ´Look and learn, for this is what they´ll do with us if we don´t strike first´ and he…he cut her in half and then raised the tail with his hand like a trophy. _

_"_And the crowd kept cheering. _And the merman kept pounding. And the mermaid kept wailing in pain. And not _one of them stopped_. And the man threw the upper part of the mermaid to the crowd, and they destroyed it" Makoto was in tears. "I can still hear her Rin" He looked at his hands. "And I see her blood in my hands. In human hands. Destroying such a beautiful creature"_

Even though Rin hadn´t seen it, he could imagine it perfectly. And he wouldn´t stop dreaming about it. "I know Makoto"

He sighed deeply. "Can you imagine how it would´ve been if we had never killed her? If none of that had happened? Imagine how we could swim among them and live in peace.

"You dream too much" Rin said a little sadly. "I just try to ignore it. Try living ignoring this injustice"

"Yeah" Makoto nodded heavily. "I could try"

"How do you think you would look if you were one?" Rin asked, trying to get the image of the ripped mermaid out of his head. "I think I would have a red tail, very fast one. I would be a celebrity and all the girls would want my autographs"

Makoto laughed. "The girls" he chuckled "I thought you were more to the other gender. But anyways. I think my tail would be green, and very long. I would live freely, helping people. Maybe get a mate" he laughed again. "They´re fantastic, aren´t they?"

"Yes"

Makoto stood suddenly and stretched. "Ah, be right back" he started walking and, before Rin could process what was happening, Makoto opened the bathroom´s door. "Makoto, don´t-!" but it was too late.

Rin ran to the bathroom as fast as he could and stood in front of Haru, who had a look of pure fear in his face and had backed against the wall of the tub. When Rin had stood in front of him, the merman had reached to his leg and hid behind it.

"OH MY GOD!" Makoto screamed, falling back against the wall. "OH MY GOD RIN, YOU HAVE A-" but he quickly shut up when he saw the alarmed expression on Rin´s face.

"Makoto! Keep your voice down!" he whispered urgently. "You´re scaring him!"

Rin turned around and knelt in front of Haru. He looked very scared and troubled, his chest rising and falling rapidly. Rin put his hands on Haru´s neck and he held his wrists tightly. "Hey, it´s okay. You´re okay. Breathe, okay? Just breathe" The merman nodded and rested his hands on Rin´s neck, resting his forehead on his. "Don´t worry. He won´t say anything. He´s my friend"

Behind Rin, Makoto was muttering rapidly. "Oh my god, Rin. There´s one – you have one on your bath tub – oh my god. How? Why? Rin there´s a merman on your tub. Rin he´s showing affection. Oh my god, you have to be kidding me.

As Haru concentrated on breathing with his eyes closed. Rin called out to his panicked friend. "Calm down Makoto. You´re scaring him. If you won´t calm down just go to my room and wait for me. Don´t you dare get out of this house. Go" Makoto scrambled away as Rin turned back to Haru. "Don´t worry. Just stay here. I´ll go calm him down"

Rin stood and went to his bedroom, where Makoto was pacing back and forth, muttering under his breathe. Rin sat him down on his bed and explained everything since he had woken up to his screams to the cuts on his tail and how he couldn´t go back to the sea. He left out all the blushes and the nap in the Hammock, and how he is slowly falling in love with him.

When he´s finished Makoto laughs. "This is crazy, Rin. _You´re_ crazy"

"Believe me, I know"


	6. Chapter 6

"Can I see him?" They had been sitting without moving, not saying anything, for about half an hour when Makoto finally spoke.

"Yeah" Rin nodded to himself. "But you can´t go all crazy and start asking questions, not all at once at least. You´ll scare him. He´s also really sensible, so don´t get him uncomfortable or I´ll kill you. From what he´s told me, it has been tough for him" his tone was a little too rough and Makoto smiled. He had read every book about merfolk and knew basically everything about them.

"I´ve never seen you care so much for anyone, at least not since Kou. It´s good to see you care again" and then he stood up and Rin guided him to the bathroom.

Rin knocked carefully on the door, hearing moving water, before entering. Haru was fully submerged in the water except for his marine blue eyes, which were peeking above the edge of the tub. When he saw Rin he raised his head with much comfort, but when Makoto came out from behind him he quickly got back to only peeking warily.

"Hey Haru" Rin said as he knelt by the tub and put his hand in the water, moving it a bit. "Makoto´s a friend. No need for hiding"

The merman´s head poked out of the water again and this time didn´t duck back in, but hung his head a little. Makoto approached with gleaming eyes and knelt by the tub beside Rin. He looked at Rin for a second and then back at Haru "I have heard so much about your kind," he said admiringly. "It would be nice to know your name"

Haru looked at Rin, his eyes averting. "He´s name is Haru" Rin said, noticing how uncomfortable Haru looked.

"Can I see…?" he pointed at his legs.

Rin nodded and Makoto leaned over the tub and looked at his tail. "Amazing" Makoto looked speechless as he glanced back at Rin and smiled widely. "Amazing!" he exclaimed.

"Okay, okay" Rin said as Makoto beamed. "I know it´s amazing but don´t-"

"No, no, no" He laughed excitedly. "The tail. The color. He´s a _pure blood_" Makoto bowed at Haru. "I´m honored to be in your presence"

Haru looked away and Rin frowned. He had heard that term before…_pure blood. _But he didn´t know what it meant. By the way Haru looked, it couldn´t be too good. His face had the expression you get when you feel you´re about to throw up. "Okay, Makoto. Explain. If you don´t wanna get kicked out"

"Pure Blood. Er. They are identified by this turquoise tail color. Pure Blood´s can resist longer out of the sea water, but they have to get bathed in them once in a lunar cycle. They don´t have the necessity to be in contact with it, but, even though they can resist very low temperatures in the water, when they are on air their skin turns extremely sensible to cold" Makoto looked at Haru carefully. "But…given he´s a pure blood this is even more dangerous Rin"

Rin was just processing the information. _Of course: the lunar cycle; the purple lips; he can stay out of the water; the hisses when removing the glass; it all fit. _"Dangerous? How much more? I mean, I have a merman in my bathtub"

Makoto looked in awe and sighed, looking as Haru hung his head. "I was surprised to see him show affection…because Pure Bloods are really reserved; always keeping to themselves, not showing much trust to others…Anyways, they are _extremely_ careful…and they are right to be"

"Why?"

"You remember all those old myths about mermaid tears? How they could heal and had special properties? Well," He glanced at Haru again, this time worried. "Pure Bloods are the only merfolk kind to even _shed_ tears. His tears could even cure cancer"

"You didn´t tell me" Rin croaked out shocked. But Haru just kept hanging his head.

"I was still doubtful yesterday" He whispered. "I was going to tell you when I woke up but I forgot because…" he looked at Makoto and then back at the water. "I forgot"

His best friend looked at his watch. "Hey Rin, I have to go now. I promised mom and dad I'd watch Ran and Ren this evening cause they´re going out for their Anniversary" Rin looked suspicious. "Do you honestly think I´d give you away? Come on. I´d help you burry a body" and with that he stood and left.

Rin felt very alarmed suddenly as something struck him. Who was going to watch for Haru when he was at the police station? He couldn´t miss his job…What if someone saw him or someone already knew and broke in to steal Haru? What if they took him away forever? No, they couldn´t…how would they? But he had hit that man on the street the other night. Maybe he had seen his face…

"Rin" Haru looked more relaxed now that Makoto was gone.

"Haru, why do you trust me so much?" the question slipped from his lips without him wanting to. But he wanted to hear the answer after what Makoto had said. _They are _extremely _careful. "_You could´ve escaped while I slept, it wouldn´t have taken you so long"

The merman´s eyes shone, the marine blue remarkably bright in contrast with his black hair. "I don´t know" he replied. "I just do…like I have never before. I feel safe with you. But why don´t you give me away? Or sell me? Or torture me for tears? You could do anything. And I don´t know why, but I´d let you" Haru rested his arms on the edge of the tub. "Even if you don´t like the rules. You work as a police; you muttered it in your sleep. You love your country"

"I´d let it burn before anything happened to you" Rin smiled lovingly. "And you keep making me doubt where my trust lies" He carefully cupped Haru's face. "You´re such a fascinating creature, you´re just impossible"

Rin then slowly leaned in and kissed Haru slowly on the lips, tasting the salt there. They both slightly parted their mouths, freely exploring with their tongues as Haru wrapped his arms around Rin´s neck and tilted his head slightly. _You´re just too good to be true, _Rin thought helplessly as they kissed; and Haru tasted so good. Rin had kissed girls a lot of times, plenty of them, but he had never kissed anyone as deeply and genuinely as he was now.

Haru was slowly pulling him closer and Rin instinctively took off his shirt and kicked out his shoes, climbing into the warm water, carefully putting his legs on each side of Haru´s tail. They continued kissing, but not like the passionate kisses he had shared before, very messy and hot and unreal, but sweet and slow, remembering every part of it.

Once again while they kissed, Haru´s tail curled around Rin´s leg and Rin laughed lightly into the kiss; pulling back a few inches to see Haru´s blushing face. "What _is_ that?" he muttered close to his lips, pecking his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, his temples, his eyelids and his jaw line sweetly.

Haru spoke a little embarrassed "Merfolk; we consider tail twining an extremely intimate act" Rin pecked his lips between words, smiling as Haru tried to continue. "And before yesterday in the hammock, I had never done it with anybody. That´s why I trust you so much, it only happens if it is real"

"So I guess it´s decided" Rin murmured.

"What is?"

"That you´re mine, of course"


	7. Chapter 7

Omg i cant believe i got reviews IM SO FREAKING HAPPY anyways i think ill regret this chapter and possibly erase and replace it I do that sometimes...well there you go i tried

* * *

They lied in the water together for a long time. Haru ended up wrapped around Rin, who had changed position with Haru so he was the one sitting with Haru on top of him. Anyways. The merman had done that thing where he wrapped his tail around his leg and Rin smirked lightly and chuckled as he did, getting a "shut up" in return. Rin fidgeted with the silky black hair as he smiled dorkily. Just what in the world was making him act like this? He looked down at Haru and sighed.

Before they had fallen to silence Haru had said something that had made him feel a little bad.

_"__It will be almost impossible" Haru had said looking down as Rin pecked his face all over. "I´m different from you, I-"_

_"__You may be different" Rin had murmured. "But that thing you said about the tail? ´It only happens if it is real´?"_

_"__Yes" he had sighed. "But it goes only for merfolk. Humans and merfolk…It has never happened before; at least not in a long time"_

_"__But you can´t change" Rin had reasoned, causing Haru to stay silent. "It has to be real"_

It was impossible, Rin thought, looking at his leg enveloped by the turquoise tail. Where did he get the idea that this—whatever this was—would work? He had just kissed a merman, the creature he was supposed to be afraid of; one that he was supposed to treat as an object; the creature he could sell for so much money…whose tears could cure any disease; who only had trust in him and was just lying with him…

_It only happens if it is real_, Rin remembered Haru saying. And just then it occurred to him, what if he wasn´t a creature? That way it would work, wouldn´t it? Rin looked back down at Haru; the bent where the knees would be was noticeable, so maybe…no. It was impossible. Rin shook it out of his head, but he still looked down at Haru and wondered what he would do tomorrow when he had to go to the station.

"Rin…" Haru´s monotone voice took him out of his train of thought.

"Yeah?" Rin answered. "Everything right, babe?" babe_. Babe_? Since when did he use that word? God, love _was_ as complicated and endumbing (if that was even a word) as everyone said it was.

"Can I ask you a question?" he sounded curious. Haru was sitting a little upright on Rin´s chest, and he seemed to be really thinking something, giving it turns in his head.

"Sure" Rin cautiously replied, bracing himself for anything. What would he ask? And after several slow seconds he was starting to get nervous when-

"What if I _could_ change?" Rin was taken off guard and Haru just kept not looking at him. "Maybe there´s a way…a way to change"

"You think—I mean—it´s possible?" Rin croaked out. _Maybe there´s a way. _That was it. That was a solution.

"Maybe…but, after all that has happened…" he shook his head. "I think there _was_ a way…only they never could try"

"´_They´? _Who´s ´_they_´?" Rin was getting excited.

"The leaders of my tribe…they couldn´t because we never had the right ingredients and fire was needed; we weren´t allowed to go to the surface even for something like that"

"Do you remember?" Haru frowned. "The things you need, I mean"

"Yes, I remember" he started muttering under his breath. "But after physical come mentally…" he raised his voice to normal "we would need a contract. I can do it. Just say yes"

Rin thought for a second. Here it was, a way to be with the person he loved, but something didn´t fit. He gently put his hands on Haru´s hips, just where the tail started, feeling the slippery scales. Haru first went rigid for a second, then relaxed as Rin started making gentle circles with his thumbs. Haru could get legs, but would he be willing to lose his tail? Would it be forever? Rin couldn´t take something so amazing as a freaking mermaid tail just for something like _love_. What if Haru regretted it afterward?

But that wasn´t it "Is it dangerous?"

Haru nodded slowly "Yes"

"How much?"

He bit his lip. "Worst…it takes my life, but-"

"I can´t ask you that" Rin said a little lamentably, looking at the way Haru was staring at him like a child that was just taken candy from. "I wouldn´t bear it if you then regretted losing your tail, maybe you could hate me and…I just can´t imagine it. And even if you didn´t regret it, if anything happened to you…" Rin brought his hand to Haru´s cheek and the merman leaned into his hand. "I would never forgive myself"

"If I stay like this, you will have to carry me around everywhere forever" he tried to reason with Rin, but he wouldn´t budge so easy.

"That doesn´t sound so bad…" Rin teased him, trying to kiss him; but Haru just turned his head to the side and blew out a huff.

"You could never go outside with me" Haru pushed. Even though his tone was dry and emotionless, his eyes looked disappointed. "It´s the only way. I…I´d give my life to be able to walk _with_ you"

"No" Rin said, deadly serious.

"But we could-" He tried again but-

"I said _no_"

With a sigh, Haru´s head fell straight to Rin´s chest and he groaned. The merman was clearly willing to risk it all, but Rin, even though he just wanted _so badly_ for him to turn human, wouldn´t gamble Haru´s life. Apart from that, he was getting angry.

"I could be normal" Haru whispered out, but the look on his face showed he regretted it when Rin reacted.

"I don´t want you _normal_! I want you _safe_!" he yelled at Haru, and the merman quickly responded.

The scales on his arms stood up and his tail disentangled from his leg, the edges of the fins turning as sharp as broken glass; his pupils turned to slits and he opened his mouth in a hiss, showing sharp teeth; his hands, that were on Rin´s arms, had turned webbed and his nails were long and sharp, cutting deep into his skin. Only hisses were coming out of his mouth, but Rin was sure it sounded like a language; a very angry language.

Rin quickly got out of the tub, falling into the hard tiled floor; hearing the sound of splashing water and more angry hisses behind him. Now he was at his limit: he was wet, he was bleeding, his legs hurt and he was _angry_. He stood up shaking with rage, turned around, and screamed so loud that he thought the neighbors 5 blocks down would hear him. "I _WON´T_ LET YOU"

Rin was seeing red. Only after several huge breathes and looking at the floor calming down, he finally found courage enough to look at the tub, bracing himself to see Haru. He was expecting to see the same creature he had seen only some inches apart a few seconds ago, with sharp teeth and slit eyes; but all he saw was a scared merman, with silky black hair and blue scared eyes; looking at him as though he was a monster.

Haru was shaking slightly, his back pressed against the wall of the tub, trying to get as far from Rin as possible. _You´re the one who just grew sharp teeth and made me bleed with your freaking claws, _Rin though helplessly and was about to scream again but decided against it seeing the look on Haru´s face.

Instead, he tried kneeling in front of him to try reason because he got fucking scared. "Haru I-" but as soon as he opened his mouth Haru let out another hiss, retreating from where Rin was leaning into. "Fine, I´ll leave you alone" and with that he went to his room, slamming the door behind him.

God, what did he get himself into? He saved a merman, gained his trust faster than any human had, fell in love with him, contemplated the true form of a merfolk when it´s angry, bled because of a merman, lost his trust and possibly broken up with him in less than 48 hours.

There was only one thing to do.

_Ring. Ring._ "Rin?"

"Makoto I screwed up"


	8. Chapter 8

"I LEFT YOU ALONE ONE HOUR. ONE FUCKING HOUR. AND YOU GO AHEAD AND RUIN WHAT COULD BE THE BEST OPPORTUNITY IN YOUR LIFE. WHAT THE FUCK RIN, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?! DO YOU EVEN THINK?! I CANT BELIEVE-" Makoto's surprisingly angry, running his mouth and even swearing. Makoto never swears so that's a starter. Since Rin had called him he had been screaming at him on the phone and wouldn't stop.

"Makoto" Rin urges, trying to calm him down.

"DON'T YOU MAKOTO ME RIN, YOU KNOW HOW BAD THIS IS. WHEN IS THE LAST TIME A MERMAN HAD TRUST IN YOU. A PURE BLOOD SPECIFICALLY?!" He stays silent. "HUH?!"

"Never, Makoto. I-"

"EXACTLY" he yells once more and Rin hears his sigh. "What the heck, Rin. Seriously. What did you even tell for him to get so angry?"

Rin sighs again, running his free hand through his hair. "Apparently, there's a way for him to turn human"

There's a pause. "No fucking way"

"Yes way"

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Makoto sounds worried. "Him being human and all that?"

"Let me finish. He told me and first of course I was excited but then I asked him if it was dangerous and he said it could take his life and - Makoto, what in the actual fact. Are you fucking crying?"

"Sorry, sorry" Rin hears a sniffle. "It's just like a romantic movie but go on"

"So I was like, 'there's no way I'll let you gamble your own life" but he was like, insisting and saying he'd give anything but I wouldn't budge and then he said 'we could be normal' and then I yelled at him 'i don't want you normal, i want you safe' and why the fuck am I even telling you this? The point is he looked really angry and he had, like, a nervous reaction, cause his scales stood on end like cats hair and then his teeth were sharp and his pupils turned to slits and I was so fucking scared so I just, like, got out of the water and yelled so hard I think you could hear me from the station and then he looked super scared and I felt so guilty and when I tried to touch him to say sorry he hissed at me and now I'm here spitting this story on the fucking phone and I fucked up and now I don't know what to do" Rin said really fast, but he knew Makoto could keep up to him.

"I...I'm really sorry Rin" Makoto says with genuine sadness and understanding. "But, I know that the Haru you saw, the one with the sharp teeth; I have never heard of that happening before" the passing of pages on the other side of the line was faint but enough to be heard. "But I don't really know if you can gain his trust again. That's not on any book I've read. These are all theory, physical. That untrust is psychological"

"Oh God, Makoto" Rin kept shaking his head. "How am I supposed to-?"

"Wait!" Makoto suddenly sounded a little hopeful, the sound of a book slamming on a table. "It says here something. 'Pure bloods are recognized by the color of the tail and the loneliness, showing how careful they are' like I told you"

"So..."

"'So it's really complicated to earn one's trust' like you did. 'And this trust forms a connection between the pure blood and the folk it's laying the trust on, like a bond' it says some things about how to see these bonds, tail twining, hormones, eye color, blah blah - here. 'If said bond is to be broken there could be serious psychological damage. Like low self esteem, almost no emotions showed; there can even be an inability to swim anymore, and the tail could lose color' blah blah"

Rin sighs and presses his thumb and index finger to his temple. "Makoto, that just makes me feel worse. I'm even more worried now"

"Sheesh, don't be impatient" Makoto barks at him "it says here that 'it would be really difficult to earn ones trust again. BUT there is a way to do it. As the merfolk would be deeply offended, it's improbable the other folk would be able to even touch him, so the bond must be mended another way. Merfolk, especially Pure bloods, consider trust a queer feeling, used only in rare occasions. So one way would be to show trust is still an option' that's actually pretty difficult" murmurs Makoto, but composes himself immediately. "'Or the folk must prove he or she is a real mate by finding the other's weak or sensitive spot' that's actually pretty romantic, isn't it? But you would have to do it on the first try you near him or it won´t work"

Rin sighs for the third time that day, "yes, it is. But who the hell found out that information?" Rin could almost feel the shrug. "Okay, so I must prove myself to be a real mate?"

"It sounds so weird when you say it" Makoto giggles. "But yeah. Basically. Then it says 'if it works, the Pure Blood would have no other option as he or she is flattered by the action and gain trust again. After this the folk must make an offering to the Pure Blood, like a small sacrifice. It could be letting the Pure Blood drink some of the others blood or vice versa'"

"That's creepy" Rin mutters "sounds like freaking vampires"

"Well," Makoto says, sounding relieved. "At least thank God-"

"If there is one on the first place"

"-that you found a way to earn his trust again. It could be worse" Makoto finishes, ignoring his comment completely. "And taking into consideration both vampires and mermaids were considered myths before The Incident, I'm not surprised they have similar properties or quirks"

"You sound like a professional" Rin mocks him. "Thanks"

"This is big" Makoto laughs on the phone nervously. "Don´t fuck up Rin. You better gain his trust"

"Yes that´s why I´m hanging now" Rin pulled the phone away from his ear, hearing Makoto´s protests but anyways hung up and flopped down on his bed.

_You have to prove yourself trustworthy, _Rin thought as he energetically stood up and jumped a few times, rubbing his hands together like a maniac. _You gotta prove Haru. You gotta see a mate in you, gotta see it, gotta be it. Be the mate. _Deeper in his mind a voice told him, _you are seriously a retard. _He pushed it away. _Shut up. I gotta be the mate._

He googled in his laptop: _How to gain one´s trust again. _"Okay, okay" he said clicking a link that said ´How convince someone to trust you back´ ((this actually exists)). "_Convince them with your actions_. Out of limits. _Blame yourself. Don´t do it again_. That´s pretty obvious. _Do it by your manners. Be patient. Be ready to sacrifice_. The irony god" he read everything under his breath. "_Think about what you did. Surprise them_. My best. _Surrender your privacy_. The fuck´s _that_ supposed to mean? _Offer to make amends. Apologize being specific. Don´t pressure for forgiveness. Give them space and time. Respect their decision_. Oh god…" he closed his laptop and run his fingers through his hair. "_Don´t expect forgiveness"_

After some mental preparation he was standing at the bathroom´s door, his hands in his pockets. He knocked almost soundlessly. _Okay, let´s do this. _He slid the door open and watched as Haru dropped his head back in the water almost completely, only his eyes peeking out. The same he had done when Makoto had come in. It wasn´t a good signs but Rin had to at least try. He neared the tub slowly and sat down on the toilet beside it. Haru, of course, went straight to the opposite side from where he was close to and continued staring at the water for a change.

"Hey…" he started calmly, dropping his hand to move the water slightly. It had gone cold from so long without changing but Rin kept moving his hand in it in slow circles. "I don´t really know what to tell you for you to believe me, but I´m really sorry for how I reacted. I – It´s my fault; all this…It´s not what I wanted – what I want. I was just scared…for you. I need you to understand it´s you I worry about. Not me. I don´t want us to end like this; not talking, not touching. " he waited. _Blame yourself. Check. Do it by your manners. Check. Apologize being specific. Check. Give them space and time. Check. Be patient. Check. _He remembered what he had read.

Rin had it clear it was too improbable that Haru would gain trust in him so easily again; he knew Haru was probably making an escape plan in his mind right now. But he had to try. He first thought about it and decided against it, but as if his body was moving alone, he found himself easing himself onto the tub. Haru didn´t move a muscle as he did; his tail was bended like normal legs would against his chest and he was hugging himself. The posture made Rin feel worst than he already did and he found himself copying it except his arms were crossed over his knees sloppily.

Rin was defeated by then, the only thing he had left to do was wait, but the more he did the worst he felt. But this was something he couldn´t lose. This bond – to put in some way – had to be mended. _Shit, I sound like a teenager, _he thought helplessly. But what was he supposed to think like? Rin had never felt so compromised to something before. Sure, the races before The Incident had asked all but effort from him; but this was different. This was something he did for himself and not against someone. _But it _is_ like a race_, his mind told him; _except this time the prize is not a trophy_…

He looked up at Haru through tired eyes and almost jumped backwards when he saw the merman was looking at him; there was still doubt in his eyes, and he wasn´t happy or excited or nothing close to that. His expression was plain, save for the doubt; he was pokerfaced. Therr was no disgust, no fear, no _anger_. Nothing. And Rin felt so relieved

_This time the prize is him._

* * *

omg so shorttt. But i got the rest (kind of) planned so next chapters are coming soon. Short thanks: But omg i never believed i would have reviewss jbakxgcbw. ALL of you I´ve read them u beutiful ppl you have me smiling like an idiot. CapriciousUke 6 in a row i was crying i swear ur all so beautifull and good and awesome for reading my crappy writing. Thank you! IM SMILING IKEA RETARD EVERY DAY CAUSE OF YOU *sprays you with flowers*


	9. Chapter 9

I am such a terrible person. It´s been way too long since I published chpter seven. I feel so guilty. Sorrrrrryyyyyyy i had an emotional breakdown (not literrally) so I haven´t found the inspiration and when I found it, it wasnt even good enough. I feel terrible but I tried.

* * *

Rin waited for almost fifteen minutes straight just _looking_ at Haru. The only feeling he ever saw on those eyes for half of the time was doubt, ever so slowly melting away and turning into something Rin couldn´t quite make out. He waited until he grew impatient, and for all the jumbled thoughts running across his min, even he was surprised at how careful he was.

Like all he had done in the last half hour he hastily and slowly raised his hand above the water, close to him, but not quite. Haru stared at his hand with no emotion but didn´t move anything at all apart from his blue eyes. Rin approached his shaking hand to Haru and – thanking whatever gods he knew the names to – he sighed shakily in relief that he didn´t back away when he landed it in his cheek; caressing it softly with the back of his folded fingers.

Rin swallowed hard and stumbled over his own words. "You – does this mean…you forgive me?"

Haru nodded and raised his hand to put it over Rin´s, making him let another sigh of relief. "Yes" was his simple response.

"Thank you" Rin breathed out. He shuffled closer to him and, defeated, dropped his forehead on Haru´s shoulder, his legs ending up on both sides of him. "Thank you" he muttered and then suddenly his head popped upwards again. He raised his bare forearm and offered it to Haru. "Makoto said I had to make a small sacrifice to you. Here" Haru frowned at him deeply. "He said I should give you some of my blood. So, go ahead"

Haru blinked at him once and then started laughing. Rin looked at him with wide eyes, stunned, and started laughing too. His laugh was so contagious and plain _adorable, _the way his cheeks were slightly pink and his lips curled up in small smile, how his shoulders shaked with laughter. "What?" Rin asked between laughs. "What´s so funny?"

The merman stopped and looked up at him. "I´m flattered" he muttered, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Why?" Rin wondered aloud. "Did I say something?"

"There´s no such thing as a sacrifice" he chuckled lowly and his blush grew a little darker. "I never thought I´d laugh again" The look on Haru´s eyes was so warm Rin took the chance to grab his jaw gently and kiss Haru, causing the merman to wrap his arms around his neck, responding slowly to the kiss. It had only been three hours, but it felt lke forever since he had touched Haru´s lips with his own, tasted the saltiness in his mouth.

After a few seconds Rin pulled back only slightly and smiled. _Note to self: Kill Makoto later for lying to me. _Rin laughed softly when he saw Haru´s eyes open in annoyance at the sudden stop, immediately going back to kiss him. _2__nd__ Note to self: Thank Makoto for making Haru trust in me again._

Rin parted them after some minutes of making-out and, with a soft whine from Haru, stepped out of the tub, his arm being instantly grabbed by the merman. "Where are you going?" he said worriedly, looking up at him with big, blue eyes. He just laughed and leaned down to kiss his nose, chuckling as he scrunched it up as if it tickled him.

Rin yawned "I think I´m taking a nap" he said rubbing at one of his eyes. Haru yawned too and nodded, "Or maybe just sleep. I´ll wake you up tomorrow for breakfast, ok?" The merman muttered a ´ok´ pulling Rin down once more to plant a quick kiss on his lips.

Rin first found some towels in his closet and dried himself up, changing into a pair of sweatpants and a sleeveless, black t-shirt and laying down in his bed facing the roof. As he slowly fell asleep, he thought about the chances of walking down a street with Haru; cuddling with him on his bed with their _legs_ intertwined; Haru waking him up and _walking_ with him on the beach; Haru running to meet him after work; Haru dancing with him…or if something went wrong…

Rin tried not to think about it as he dropped into a deep sleep, all the happy images of Haru as a human running through his mind. _Running. _Rin smiled at his own pun. _Hilarious. _Until he only saw black and started to snore.

_"__Rin!" Haru called out to him, standing on the end of the street. Rin happily smiled and started walking towards him, even though he didn´t get any closer even if he ran._

_"__Rin!" Haru called again, a hint of panic in his voice._

_"__What´s wrong?" he called back, fascinated by the fact that Haru was standing on two feet some meters away from him. If Rin could only reach him…_

_"__Rin!" Now Haru´s voice was fully panicked, his face contorted into a look of pure fear. "Rin!"_

_"__Haru?!" he started runnig towards him again, never getting any closer. _

"Rin!" he woke up to his name being called by Haru, the same panicked tone that in the nightmare he had just woken up from.

"Haru?!" he jumped out of his bed and ran to the bathroom, finding it empty, and quickly turning to the source of the yell on the corridor. A man – no – the same man that had pulled Haru out of the ocean and dragged him across the streets like a dead animal, was pulling him in the same way the night when Rin had saved Haru.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Rin yelled at the man, quickly catching his attention. The man pulled at Haru´s tail once to drag him behind him before towering in front of Rin.

"I´m just picking up what´s mine" he growled down at him. "Don´t interfere, and I will forgive what you did two days ago"

"Like fucking hell I am" Rin punched the guy first, catching him by surprise and making him stumble backwards, in the act stepping on Haru´s fin and causing him to emit a high pitched hiss that had both Rin and the man cover their ears. While his ears still rang, Rin punched the guy once more, this time getting punched back in the stomach. He held in the pain while groaning and punched the man again, pushing him against the wall and hitting his head with a lamp from a small table behind him. The man punched him hard in the jaw and Rin winced before hitting the man with the lamp again. The man fell down and quickly stood up, Rin quickly grabbing his collar to throw another punch.

"Look, kid" he said desperately. "I´m just doing my job here. C´mon," he pointed at Haru, panting on the floor behind him. "That thing is worth more than the price of buying the United States in cash"

"If he´s just a "thing", why would he be worth so much? Huh?" Rin knew the answer of course. If this man knew it too…and he knew where he lived…

"I don´t know kid" the man shook his head. "They just said ´blue tail, blue eyes s´worth your life´"

"Shit" Rin muttered. Whoever this man was working for, _they_ knew how much Haru was worth and maybe why too… He turned to the man and pointed at him warily. "You´re gonna get out of here, and I´m going to pretend this never happened. You will just forget all about us, and if I here about you again," he pointed at his desk were a pair of handcuffs were lying. "remember I´m a cop. I can arrest you if I want too" Rin let him go, opened the door, and closed it in his face.

"Are you okay?" Rin said worriedly as he leaned down to untie the rope from the end of his tail, revealing a purple X where it pressed too hard.

"Yes…" Haru said taking Rin´s hand, where his fist was red and bruised and two of his knuckles were bleeding. "Your hand…"

"Oh, don´t worry" Rin laughed shakily. "It´s just a little blood…Haru?" the merman had hung his head and his shoulders were slumped forward, shaking slightly. "Hey, look at me" Rin raised Haru´s face and noticed tears were falling from those deep blue eyes. "Are you-"

"Sh…" Haru soothed as he just took his bloodied hands and guided his knuckles to lie gently on his cheek, right beneath a falling tear. Rin braced himself as the crystalline tear dropped and felt it gently touch his injury, instantly causing an icy feeling to spread through his hand. Rin watched speechless as Haru moved his wounded knuckles to caress his own soft skin, making his hand wet from the tears that fell on it.

Then Rin continued to watch as, like a cat, Haru gently licked his hand were the cuts were, noticing there were no wounds anywhere and the pain in his hand was completely gone; more than gone, now Rin felt like he could take a thousand knifes through and it wouldn´t hurt.

Haru looked up at Rin. "Can cure anything" he said smiling, the last tears falling.

"You have such an amazing gift" Rin said amazed. "But…every gift has its flaw, doesn´t it?"

Haru looked down for a second and then looked straight in Rin´s eyes. He raised his hand and Rin saw how it was trembling . "While Pure Blood´s take the pain away, we don´t make it disappear, we take it in ourselves…" He lowered his hand. "Your knuckles didn´t hurt like a bullet, but they hurt before right?" Rin nodded. "The flaw is that when we take the pain, we take it in ten times worst, depending on how much we care for who we´re taking it from. It´s just _while_ we take it, but it hurts like acid on an open wound"

"Why would you take it for me? It wasn´t even that necessary" Rin stood and picked Haru up, the merman´s head cuddling into his chest. "Not if it hurts you like that"

"I wanted to show you"

"How it works"

"No" Haru smiled weakly. "How much loving someone can hurt"

* * *

i wasnt so sure about that last line. I almost changed it to. "_Loving makes us weak_" or "w_e are reserved because loving can hurt us more than anything_" so idk but i know i said i would have it soon because i have this mini summary. t

his chapter was literraly based in: _gains trust (somehow) kiss kiss fall in love again lol some shit tries taking haru away rin to the rescue save tears heal knuckles or waterver blah blah dramatic ending line "loving hurts us too" "how much loving hurts" "love makes us weak" "Love hurts us too bad to wish it" _the message is how love can actually hurt us because im a piece of sentimental shit

so thats that but i do have all the way through planned just not enough inspiration and time and brains to write because english isnt even my first language which sucks i hope you liked this chap because im not too proud of it myself but its all i can do for now

almost forgot *rains flowers on reviewers* IM NOT EVEN KIDDING


End file.
